No man is an island
by SmileEater
Summary: After waking up in the hospital, Walter makes some hard decisions. "I will keep it strictly professional from now on. For the sake of the team and for my own sanity". But as circumstances change, and the team manages to get washed up on a deserted island, Walter's struggle for control over his own emotions becomes harder by the minute.
1. Decisions

Disclamer: I don't own Scorpion or its characters.

Walter reluctantly opened his eyes. After spending one month in this awful hospital room, he will be finally returning to his home and his life, a life that he almost threw away because of emotions and dreams that were not for a person like him. Walter O'Brien 2.0 is ready to leave all silliness behind and get his do-over.

~~~One month before~~~

On the first morning he woke up in the hospital, after the morphine had worn off, he could see things clearly. Emotions are dangerous and they can get you killed. Although he would admit that he has a deep admiration and respect for his teammates and he cares for their wellbeing and their safety, this will be as far as he will go from now in terms if EQ. He will never allow himself to be this reckless and stupid again on accounts of unspoken "love" declarations and unrequited feelings towards Paige.

Sure, he was happy that his whole team will be together. He realized that Paige really had a great effect on them, making them cooperate much more efficiently not only with other people but between themselves as well. All the "social experiments" that they have tried up until now have worked. Going outside and having some fun, having meals together and talking about their opinions, all of these things that seemed so trivial before have proven to be beneficial for their working relationship. But, as far as other "social experiments" go, such as flirting lessons, dance lessons and so on, they will have to stop. He will not allow himself to live in a fantasy world where the geek gets the cheerleader just through his sheer intelligence and wits. "I will keep it strictly professional from now on. For the sake of the team and for my own sanity" he vowed to himself silently.

He knew that Paige was sleeping in the chair right next to his bed. He took a moment to take the sight in and look at her beautiful frame. He felt a familiar ache, something that he experienced when he saw her at the top of the cliff. He could have died if she hadn't shown up at that moment. Only because he was a stubborn idiot with romantic fantasies. What would have changed if he told her how he felt and then died? How is that efficient and sane? Efficient would have been to stop whining and find better solutions to get himself out of that mess so that he could continue to help others. They, Scorpion, had a really good thing going. A-class high stakes cases and a lot of people in need of help. So why was he so eager to throw it all away just because Paige was not there? This had to stop.

Paige started stirring in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze immediately sought Walter and was welcomed with an icy stare. "What the hell is up with him?" she though.

"Good morning, Walter. How are you feeling?" she asked and gave him a small smile, while reaching and touching his hand. Walter froze at her touch, which did not go unnoticed by the woman. She frowned and reluctantly withdrew her hand from his.

"As well as you could expect" he responded with his "robot" voice as Paige liked to call it jokingly when they first began their collaboration. He told himself that she only touched his hand because that is how Paige communicates with others and emphasizes her ideas. He wasn't been the only one to receive these touches, so they don't matter as much as he initially thought they did. Sylvester had been comforted by her with the exact same touch when he was lying in a hospital bed three months ago. Thus, his standpoint is correct.

"Do you remember anything from yesterday? From last night as a matter of fact?" Paige was wondering if his attitude was a response to her kiss the other night. "Maybe he heard what I said and felt the kiss on his lips. Maybe he wasn't out cold and he knows", Paige started to reel and blushed.

"I remember everything from yesterday when I was in the car. But besides seeing all the team in my room in a daze and feeling weird and giddy, that's about it"

"Well, you were also very glad to hear that I will not be leaving for Portland anymore", she said with a grin, "I changed my mind. Scorpion is my family and I think that with some very strict guidelines for Ralph, we can really make it work without him feeling excluded. Only if it's ok with you…you are our boss after all" she added shyly, eager to hear his response. Maybe this will be the moment when he opens up to her and finally tells her what she has been waiting for months to hear.

"Of course you are welcome to stay in our team, Paige. You raised our efficiency levels by 47% in the months since you started working with us. I agree that I should have a sit-down with Ralph and explain to him that the field is no place for a child. We will further discuss our terms when I will recuperate and we will resume our activities", he responded flatly.

Paige was taken aback by his coldness and official manner of speaking. She didn't expect a scene from the Notebook, but at least a smile, or a touch or something, anything. After yesterday's events, she felt as if today was the day when she would finally get a confirmation of Walter's feelings towards her so that they could take another step forward in their relationship.

"O-okay…I will go grab a coffee. Do you need anything?" Paige said as she tried to force a smile on her face although she felt disappointed and a bit frustrated.

"Could you please call a nurse? The pain medication is wearing off" Walter lied, thinking that if the nurse came at the same time Paige returned with her coffee, they will no longer be alone in the room and she will give him another dose of morphine which will put him back to sleep, avoiding any other further dangerous topics of discussion.

"Yeah. Sure" Paige sighed and got up from the chair and out of the room in search of a nurse.

Walter looked at her while she exited the room and exhaled a breath that he seemed to have been holding since she opened up her eyes. If he was so adamant about his decision then why is it so hard? Why does he feel the need to touch her face and hear her voice? Why does her absence bother him so much now that she left? "This is pointless. I am the master of my mind. I have to stop right now", and so he did by thinking of difficult equations until the nurse came into the room.

"Good morning, Ms. O'Brien", the nurse greeted him with a warm smile. "I heard that the medication is wearing off and we can't have that now, can we?" She injected his IV with another dose of morphine and silently left the room. By the time Paige came back with her coffee, annoyed by the long line in the cafeteria, Walter was already sleeping soundly.

"What the hell is going on?" she thought and grabbed her bag to go search for the others who were in the waiting area.

*This is my first fanfic, so please be gentile :)


	2. Welcome home, Walt!

**Hey guys. Thank you so much for your reviews. Here is the second chapter :) I will try to update the story on a weekly basis. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion or its chapters.

Toby was confused. And pissed. It seems that with Walter, when it comes to EQ, it is one step forward and two steps backwards. He knew very well that Walter had the intention of telling Paige how he felt before the accident. Hell, he wouldn't get out of the damn car before seeing her. So what happened with that? Why is he watching Walter give Paige the cold shoulder while he talks to the other teammates? He is polite with her, of course, and he knows that it's just a front but, by the look on Paige's face, she is buying it. He even switched to regular coffee instead of the disgusting one with cinnamon, fact that he would be thankful for if he didn't think that something was wrong.

A month has passed since the accident and today was the day when Walter finally came back home. Toby had visited him every day along with the others and even brought videogames and played together. Everything seemed to go back to normal, Walter being his usual self when in his, Sylvester's, Happy's and even agent Gallo's presence. Everything but his attitude towards Paige. It's not that he refused to talk to her, but it was clear that he was avoiding situations in which they could end up alone or too close to each other. He even flinched at her touch when he lost his balance during a mandatory exercise walk in which Paige happened to be next to him and caught his arm in order to keep him steady.

Enough is enough. He couldn't stand by and watch his friend throw away his first (and maybe only) real chance at happiness. Toby knew how rare those chances are, seeing as though he and Happy were still on shaky grounds. Even after a month she would barely talk to him. In the adrenaline of Walter's accident, he thought that she may have forgiven him, but after they found out that he will be alright, Happy went back to her recipe of ignoring him with a side of aggressiveness here and there. At least, in the past month, she went from throwing things at him to grunts and then even to monosyllabic words. Although some would give up, Toby calls it progress.

He admired Paige. Although her feelings were hurt, she insisted that they should do something special for Walter's welcome home party. She made them work together to decorate the whole garage with lights, ordered food, brought Megan from the hospital and tried to recreate the family reunion that they had for Christmas. She even painted a "Welcome Home, Walt!" sign that hang high from the balcony of the loft. It was clear for Toby that she was as in love with Walter as he was with her. So what was the hold-up?

He almost smacked Walter's head when he didn't notice and acknowledge Paige's efforts, but instead took a seat and only made a remark that he is finally free from the gross hospital food. The cherry on top was when she took a seat next to him and he practically jumped from his to go and pretend to check on his rocket. So, he decided to follow his friend to that part of the garage and have a very serious conversation about his new game of playing hard to get.

"Hey buddy…What's up?" Toby asked with a pretend playful tone.

"Just came here to check, um, the, um, injection pistons on the rocket. Happy mentioned that she has been working on them to increase their capacity." Walter practically hid behind the big metal object in front on him, trying to escape the behaviorist's scrutiny.

"You know what Walt? From where I was sitting it seemed as though you ran like hell from Paige. She took a seat next to you and you jumped like your pants were on fire, liar liar."

"I did no such thing!" Walter responded almost instantly. Toby could see that he was avoiding his gaze, which only made him want to press the matter further.

"Walter, before the accident you went to Paige's house to talk to her about your feelings. You saw Drew and backed out. I get that. The thought that Ralph's biological father may still be in the game could be intimidating even for me. And have you seen my level of confidence? Never mind. You visibly got hurt when Paige told you all those things during your fight, which again. I get. But what I don't get is why are you avoiding her and treating her as she were a mere employee? We both know that this is not the case and if you want I can update that whiteboard you liked so much. Even test out my animation skills and do a little cartoon with the two of you. She worked from 6 AM up until now to get the garage ready and all you can say is that you are glad to be rid of hospital food? Seriously? That is a jerk move, buddy, and you know it. Why aren't you telling her how you feel right now? Are you waiting for a more romantic décor? It's freaking magical in here! Paige made sure of that."

Walter waited for a couple of seconds before responding, straightening his posture and switching from defensive to offensive. "First of all, I do not have to explain my actions to you, even though we are good friends. But, I will tell you something and I want you to listen really close because we will not speak of this again. Do you understand?"

Toby nodded, intrigued by his change of attitude and really curious about what the genius had to say.

"The morning I woke up in the hospital I was in pain and useless. Then, it dawned on me how stupid I have been in the past months. Unfocused, inefficient and not to mention reckless with not only my life but all of yours as well. I am your leader and if I cannot take logical and objective decisions in times of crisis, we could all end up dead because of me. I realized that my emotions are clouding my judgment and saw the effect Paige could have on me. I don't know how to process strong emotions and this sent me on edge. Literally. What would have happened if she hadn't shown up when she did, huh? What would happen if she really left us to go to Portland? I cannot allow that. I don't know what it would do to me, and in consequence to all of you. My family. I think that this is the best solution. I think that if I change my attitude towards her, my brain will follow. I will condition myself to stop having these feelings in order to keep everyone safe." Walter seemed almost breathless by the time he finished his speech.

"Do you blame her for what happened?" Toby asked reluctantly.

"Of course not, Toby! How could you ask that? I had 30 days to digest everything that has happened. Every word. I understand where she is coming from and that she was trying to protect her son. I understand that I said some mean things and that in return she responded the same way. But what I don't accept is letting this go on even further. I will not. End of discussion."

"Ok, but you have to know that there is a fine line between being objective and a jerk Walter. You are hurting her feelings, man. You are oblivious to the fact that she lo-" Toby started to say but was cut off by a really angry Walter.

"Stop it. I don't want to hear anything more. I won't allow myself to fall in a fantasy world again. And if you were my friend, you would stop encouraging this nonsense." Walter practically stomped away from his friend and went upstairs to cool off.

Although Paige couldn't hear their discussion, she could see how agitated Walter was. When he went upstairs, she couldn't resist the urge to follow him and see if he was okay. She gently knocked at the door and got an "End of discussion Toby. I am warning you".

"It's me. Paige" she slowly cracked the door and peeked into the room.

"Oh, hi Page. I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Walter said as he sat down on the couch and made a gesture for her to take a seat on the chair next to it.

"I wanted to thank you for the welcoming party. I know that it was you because the others couldn't have pulled it off by themselves." he said remembering the part when Toby called him a jerk. "I also wanted to tell you that I don't hold a grudge regarding our fight. I understand your point of view and that is why I would like to have a talk with Ralph tomorrow if it is okay with you and your schedule."

"Oh Walter, I actually wanted to apologize for everything I said and –" Paige started to say but was cut off by the man next to her.

"There is no need Paige. I told you that you are an asset for this team and I meant it. It is now all water under the bridge" he told her and got up swiftly. "I think I will call it a night. Please close the lights on your way out. Good night" Walter told her and went in his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

As she stood there in the middle of the living room, a sad thought passed through Paige's mind "He is so close to me physically, but I have never felt him so distant before". With tears in her eyes, Paige exited the loft and excused herself from the party by pretending to have a headache.

Toby saw that it was a lie, but there was nothing that he could do. He knew that once Walter is set on doing something, it will be very difficult to bring him to reason. He could only hope that his emotional wounds will heal before he drove Paige away for good.

That night, Walter had the same nightmare than the night before, and the one before that and every night since the accident. In this nightmare, after his passing, Paige had moved to Portland and wanted to remarry Drew. He dreamt that he could see her and that he was shouting from the top of his lungs to her that it was a mistake and that he cared about her, but she couldn't hear him. There was nothing that he could do. It was too late. Church bells where ringing.

**So...what do you think? Please review! **


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